CHILI FOR A CROWD

The annual Red River Rivalry is this weekend. Oklahoma and Texas football fans will be glued to their television screens. It is supposed to be cool and rainy. All of these things add up to perfect chili weather. Here is my family's favorite chili recipe. Enjoy!    BOOMER SOONER! 

LORI'S CHILI FOR A CROWD

6 pounds of ground beef, ground turkey or ½ of each

3 packages Williams original chili seasoning unsalted

2 cans Rotel tomatoes

1 small can tomato paste

3-4 cans tomato sauce (depending on how moist you want it)

1 large onion – chopped

Minced garlic (to taste, I use about 3 teaspoons)

Salt

Paprika

McCormick Hot Shot (Black & Red Pepper blend)

McCormick Mexican Chili Powder

Louisiana Hot Sauce (OPTIONAL – a few shots or more if you like it hot)

Shaved or chopped dark chocolate (OPTIONAL – 1-2 ounces at the end – adds great depth)

Brown beef and/or turkey with chopped onion in a family size skillet or 2 regular skillets.  Salt meat and add 3-4 shakes of Hot Shot (depending on how spicy you want it) while browning.

In a large saucepan, Dutch oven or crockpot, add browned meat, Rotel tomatoes and chili seasoning packets. Thoroughly mix together.  Add 2 cans of tomato sauce and 1 can tomato paste and mix thoroughly. If you need more moisture, add more tomato sauce.  After it reaches desired consistency, add minced garlic and a few shakes of Mexican Chili Powder.  You can also add the dark chocolate at this time. Mix thoroughly and let simmer for at least an hour, stirring every 10 minutes or so.

All ingredients can be adjusted to your specific tastes. If you don’t like it too spicy, leave out the McCormick Hot Shot and Rotel tomatoes.   

NOTE: I use a meat mixture of 80-90% ground round or ground chuck and ground turkey. It cuts down on the fat content, but when allowed to simmer so spices can meld together, you can’t tell it has turkey meat in it. I've also used 1/2 beef and 1/2 deer meat and it was just as good. Deer meat is extremely lean and good quality protein. 

Using low fat meat in this recipe makes it really healthy. Lots of lean protein, very low fat and loaded with antioxidants and vitamins. 

Blessings to you all,

Lori